Murray does have a great level of variety and shotmaking no question. However, Murray is very much part of the new breed of tennis player along with Djokovic, probably reflecting the types of medium paced courts tennis is played on at this moment in time.

Since the mid 1980s (Ivan Lendl), the majority of players (not all but most) and especially those who have been number 1 for extended periods, used the Ivan Lendl formula. That formula is to have a great forehand and good movement. And the specific tactic of covering the backhand side of the court to dictate play with the inside out forehand crosscourt whenever possible, and the inside in (down the line forehand) from the backhand corner as an "up the sleeve" shot. From Lendl, through Courier, then Sampras, Agassi, through Federer and Nadal have adopted this tactic. Other players like Moya also adopted it.

Although ironically Murray is now coached by Lendl, Murray doesn't have the mentality to play like this or probably the forehand to pull this type of tactic off on a consistent basis. On that basis Murray may get to number 1, but he appears not to have a game that will dominate for most of the season with the game he currently has unless he continues to improve his aggresive style and makes his forehand a bigger weapon from all areas of the court. Djokovic has manged to make his forehand more offensive whilst still relying on his trusted backhand.

Murray has a bigger game than Hewitt but at this moment in time is in the Hewitt category of grand slam winners.

Murray has lots of variety, he has added onto his resume over time. I also wouldn't call anybody on the professional tour a "pusher"; he's a counterpuncher ala Hewitt (except better than Hewitt by a great deal).

Murray has lots of variety, he has added onto his resume over time. I also wouldn't call anybody on the professional tour a "pusher"; he's a counterpuncher ala Hewitt (except better than Hewitt by a great deal).

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I think Hewitt would weep in defeat at the sight of Murray's trophy cabinet sporting no less than 1 US open trophy.

He is the best pusher in the world bar-none. He has two different game styles which is kind of annoying though, although as said with Lendl he is much better than he used to be. He can go entire matches now with aggression and then play like Roddick for an entire match.

I've never understood this contention. Murray is a carbon clone grinder. His 'tremendous variety' consists in the fact that he can push on both forehand and backhand wings, even in windy conditions. See Federer, Roger, for true variety.

Sampras was a master of it ~ I remember a commentator pointing it out during his 1990 Grand Slam Cup demolition of Brad Gilbert; keep hitting it back passively until you get an opportunity, then step up, take the ball early and flat, and catch out your opponent with the change-up.

Pete was more assertive about it than Murray, but then the Scot is much more of a baseliner by nature. I still see him winning plenty of rallies by suddenly injecting pace into a rally, forcing an error from the opponent or hitting an outright winner. It's a far more effective way to success than the Gonzalez/Verdasco school of "thump it as hard as you can every single shot".

He's also one of the better exponents of the lob in the last ten years, though not as good as someone like Hewitt. Plenty of variety for me, especially since the Lendl-ized Murray of 2012 became a bit more aggressive.

Isner has a variety of different deliveries he can hit serves 148 mph but he also can take a bit of pace off and fire in a kicker which kicks up like a mule this makes it so hard to return his serve and keeps even the elite players on their toes!

Murray is a good player with all the shots. Pity he has weak points in his forehand and 2nd serve, two VERY important shots in the pro game. Doesn't help that his 1st serve pct isn't very high, either.